Bourbon County History Collection

Abstract: The collection consists of assembled materials from a variety of sources providing information about the history of Bourbon County, Kansas. It includes information about numerous forts that were located in the county, including Forts Bayne, Lincoln, and Scott; a brief reminiscence from B. F. Gumm, an early settler who served during the Kansas-Missouri border troubles during the Civil War such as during Price's Raid and in the Battle of Westport; a list of towns and related sites with their post offices; and the constitution and a membership list for the Fulton Old Settlers Association, for members from Linn and Bourbon Counties. The membership list provides members' names, state from which they came, and year of settling. There is a brief historical sketch of a siege on Fort Bayne in December 1857 told by Major J. B. Abbott; correspondence to and from individuals at Fort Scott; and information about a branch of the Kansas Valley Bank established on Fort Scott.

Administrative History: Bourbon County in southeastern Kansas, along the Missouri border, was established on August 25, 1855 and organized on September 12, 1855. The county was named for Bourbon County, Kentucky, the birthplace of Col. Samuel A. Williams, a member of the Kansas House of Representatives from Fort Scott in 1855, who requested that the county be so named. The Kentucky county, created in 1785, was itself named for the Bourbon dynasty of France, in commemoration of French aid to the American cause during the Revolutionary War. Fort Scott is the county seat and most populous city. Townships include Drywood, Franklin, Freedom, Marion, Marmaton, Mill Creek, Osage, Pawnee, Scott, Timberhill, and Walnut.

[Kansas State Historical Society, "Kansas Counties – Bourbon County, Kansas," http://www.kshs.org/genealogists/places/counties.php?county=BB (accessed June 2, 2009.)]